America Discovers The Rutles

In October of 1975, NBC premiered its late-night comedy show
NBC's Saturday Night. The show became a surprise smash
hit, particularly among the same college students that were
huge fans of Monty Python's Flying Circus, which had only
started showing on American public broadcasting stations a year or
so earlier.

It was a natural fit, then, to have a member of the Monty Python
troupe host an episode of Saturday Night. Eric Idle blazed the
trail on October 2, 1976, hosting the third show of the second season.
Here, Jane Curtain is doing her best to convince Idle not to
perform his stunning version of "Here Comes the Sun."

We have to go back a few months, though, to see the other roots of
The Rutles' debut in America.